Indira Colony sans potable water for 5 months

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, September 29

Erratic and non-supply of drinking water at Indira Colony here has for long been a matter of crisis with the residents alleging that for past five months they haven’t received potable water.

Despite repeated complaints, the authorities concerned failed to provide access to drinking water. There are around 400-500 houses in the colony, belonging mostly to slum dwellers and people dependent on hand to mouth jobs. None of the families have got the facility.

For the women and youngsters, it has become a daily routine to look around for places from where they could acquire pure water. Vishal, Sonu, Deepak, Ajay and Rahul are among the persons who come as far as from three kilometers away from their house to get water from a public tap outside an ashram.

Vishal said that before going to work in the morning and upon returning in the evening, fetching water is the next task on the list of chores. “The water supplied in our houses is not at suitable for drinking. We only use the contaminated water for bathing and washing purposes,” he adds. Also, people including children who have sensitive skin are developing skin diseases due to the use of contaminated water. “The babies have rashes and acnes all over their bodies due to the dirty water that is being supplied. With every passing day, the scarcity of drinking water is getting acute. Despite this, the authorities are not doing anything.”

Similarly, Deepak, his friend and neighbour stated, “The broken sewer lines have added to woes. The filth water remains scattered near our houses, yet no repairing initiative was taken.” Meanwhile, Mayor Jagdish Raja assured that the problem would be eradicated shortly and the colony would be added among the areas where new tubewell connections are to be installed.